MIAMI VALLEY — The war in Iran has impacted more than just rising gas prices.
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As reported on News Center 7, the price of groceries, gas, auto parts, clothing, airline tickets, and more has risen because of the war with Iran.
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News Center 7’s Letitia Perry spoke with Dr. Andrew Wright, a history professor at Wilberforce University, who says the war isn’t the only reason gas prices are so high.
Dr. Wright says the uptick started long before the war did.
“There’s been a rise in inflation. There’s a rise in your grocery prices. There’s been a rise in homeless veterans. There’s has been a housing crisis. So we had all those things happening. And then on top of that, the war happened. And then, on top of that, the gas prices went up,” Dr. Wright said.
Dr. Wright says even if the war ends today, it will take a while before prices return to normal.
"Imagine you met someone who was morbidly obese. Let’s say they weighed 600 pounds. They didn’t get that weight from one little Debbie cake. And so for them, not eating one little Debbie cake isn’t going to bring them down to a weight they need to be," Dr. Wright said.
CBS Oil Analyst Paul Sankey agrees.
"You can be certain that the next three months, the globe is going to be very energy short because of the time it takes to restart the whole delivery process," Sankey said.
That’s a real concern for the fourth-generation family business, Yahle’s Landscaping.
For 100 years now, this family-owned company has manicured properties. That work requires gas for the trucks, and more expensive Diesel fuel for the heavy equipment.
That costs money, and lots of it these days.
“When we’re budgeting for a job, we do figure the fuel in. It’s a little difficult to do because the fuel prices fluctuate from day to day because we buy fuel like $500 or 500 gallons at a time. So one day it might be 535, and the next day it may be as low as 510," said Robert Yahle, of Yahle’s Landscaping.
Yahle said that he knows thousands of miles away, the Strait of Hormuz is preventing ships from passing through, which affects his gas, goods, and service prices here, not just for his business but also at home.
"Everything you see here in my home and your home, it all comes on a truck, whether it’s a loaf of bread, a pair of shoes, or the trees and shrubs that we plant every day," Yahle said.
Now, in order to change the look of the plots he manages, he had to plot out the budget to cover the cost of those daily fuel changes.
Economists say to save money on your fuel budget, plan your trips, combine your errands, consider doing the Majority of your driving in a compact car, and use programs that offer points and savings on your fill-ups.
You can also check Pump Patrol to find the cheapest gas in your area.
News Center 7 will have more on how high gas prices are impacting people in the Miami Valley tonight on News Center 7 at 5:00 p.m.
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